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Planning a wedding was proving to be a lot harder than Al expected.
Ed and Winry were no help. They’d kept their wedding a small affair; it was mostly just a party with their closest loved ones that happened to involve exchanging rings, nothing particularly special. Even if they had thrown a more traditional wedding, they’d still be no help since neither of them had any experience with Xingese weddings. Al had hoped Ling and Lan Fan might be able to give him some advice, but Ling had laughed at him when he asked, and Lan Fan admitted she didn’t know much about wedding planning either.
That left Al with no option other than asking Mei’s extended family for advice. It could be worse. He was lucky that Mei’s family liked him and was willing to help the happy couple prepare for their wedding, but unfortunately, it seemed like every single one of them had a completely different idea of what the wedding should be like. His Xingese had gotten pretty good after spending most of his time in Xing for the past several years, but he still struggled to keep up with a dozen different family members he barely knew talking over each other and providing conflicting suggestions for his wedding. He knew he and Mei would eventually just have to come to their own decisions about their wedding plans, but they still had to get her family’s opinions, out of good manners if nothing else. Faintly, he wondered if they could run away and elope without causing an international incident, but he’d shelved that idea for now.
He’d just managed to make a tactical retreat from one of his many recent visits with May’s aunts before they started fighting over what would be the most auspicious date for the wedding, and he was looking forward to getting home so he could take his knee braces off and get some peace and quiet for at least a little while. He didn’t make it very far down the street, however, before he rounded a corner and ran straight into someone.
“Oof! Sorry about that!” Al said in Xingese, taking a step back to see who he’d run into. His eyes widened when he saw who it was, and he switched to Amestrian. “Scar? I didn’t know you were in Xing.”
“I just arrived,” Scar said, voice as gruff as always. “Mei asked me to visit.”
“She did?” Wedding preparations had kept them both so busy that they hadn’t been able to spend as much together as they would like, which Al found disappointing. Why was it that the process of getting married meant they saw each other less? “I think she’s with her mother right now, picking the musicians for our wedding. Oh,” he added as a thought occurred to him, “We’re getting married, by the way! I don’t know if she told you.”
“She did,” Scar said, and then didn’t say anything else. He only glowered down at Alphonse, who stared back up at him. Usually when people found out he was getting married, he’d at least get a congratulations. Not that he needed a million well wishes, but he at least knew how to navigate that interaction. He wasn’t sure what to do with Scar just glaring at him.
“Okay,” Al said, hoping that would prompt Scar to say something else. It didn’t. Time to make another tactical retreat. “Well-”
“Mei is an impressive young woman,” Scar finally said, preventing Al from making his polite escape.
“She is,” Al said, brow pinching in confusion. He wasn’t sure where this was going.
“She went through many hardships that no child should experience,” Scar continued, still looming over him. Was he trying to use his height to intimidate Al? Jokes on him, Al actually relished the fact that he didn’t tower over everyone anymore.
“I know,” Al said, attempting to joke and lighten the mood, “I was there for some of those hardships.”
Scar only scowled harder at him. “She deserves to be treasured. I may have put my violent past behind me, but so help me Alphonse Elric, if I ever learn that you aren’t treating her the way you should, I will end you where you stand.”
Ah. Al understood what was happening now. “Are you seriously giving me a shovel talk right now?” he asked, unable to keep irritation from lacing his tone.
Scar blinked, as if surprised that Al was talking back, but he didn’t back down. “I know she no longer has a father who can give this speech to her fiance. If I am the only one who can fill that role to make sure she is treated well, then so be it.”
“I kind of doubt her father would’ve been the type to give a shovel talk in the first place.” Al had never met the previous emperor, but based on what Mei and Ling had told him, their father wasn’t particularly involved in their lives. “Besides, she has plenty of older brothers that could give a shovel talk.”
“None that she’s close to,” Scar countered. “Other than the emperor, but he is biased towards you Elrics.” He said it like he didn’t like the taste of the words in his mouth.
Al shrugged. He couldn’t really argue that. “Still. I don’t have a dad around either, and no one gave Mei a shovel talk on my behalf.”
“That’s because no one doubts Mei’s character. You, however…” he trailed off menacingly. Al put his hands up defensively.
“Hey, it was my brother who caused most of the trouble we got into!”
“You being an accessory to Fullmetal’s nonsense does not ease my mind.”
“Okay, we’re getting nowhere.” Al shook his head. “Let me clear some things up.” He held up a finger with each point he made. “One: Mei and I have been dating for years now. I love her terribly and I know she’d tell me if I ever did anything she didn’t like. We respect each other, and I would sooner lose my body again than hurt her. Two: Mei can stick up for herself. Like you said, she’s impressive. She could kick my butt before I even knew what was happening. She doesn’t need some tough guy act to defend her. And three: I don’t want to sound rude, but I am really not intimidated by you. I’ve gone to Truth and back. I fought multiple homunculi. All due respect, but you’re just a normal human being. You can’t scare me.”
Al didn’t know Scar well enough to be fluent in reading his expressions, but he was pretty sure the man was shocked. That wasn’t a surprise to Al. Most people assumed that because he was polite and more mild-mannered than his brother, he must also be meek and easy to walk over. Al was happy to prove that assumption wrong.
“Look, Scar,” Al said, aiming for a less confrontational tone now that he’d laid all his points out. “I know you’re important to Mei. I’m really fortunate to be someone that’s important to her too. I know you and I both have her best interests in mind. I think the best thing we can do is trust her judgment, alright? I think she can make her own decisions.”
“I didn’t mean to imply she couldn’t,” Scar interjected, the frown on his face now taking a defensive hue.
“I know you didn’t. You’re only trying to take care of her. Let’s agree that we’re both looking out for her and move on, okay?”
After a long, thoughtful pause, Scar nodded. “Fine.”
“Great!” Al smiled as if they hadn’t just been trying to intimidate each other in Mei’s honor. “Now, I’ve been standing for a while and I’d really like to give my legs a break, but maybe when Mei comes home, the three of us can get dinner? There’s a really nice restaurant near my place that makes amazing chili chicken.”
Scar reluctantly agreed. “I’m staying in the hotel near the train station. Mei knows where to find me.”
“See you then!” With that, Al finally strode past him and did his best to speedwalk home so no one else could intercept him before he got to his front door. On his way there, another thought occurred to him: if that limited interaction was that awkward, figuring out their guest list was going to be a nightmare.
Ah, well. He could withstand a million glowering Scars for Mei. He’d withstood worse.